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Vladimir Putin faced mounting international criticism last night after a Russian
court jailed three women in the Pussy Riot trial for two years.

Protesters took to the streets in cities around the world as the sentences
were delivered, accusing Mr Putin of running a dictatorship. Cultural
figures and political leaders united in condemnation of the imprisonment of
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich,
30.

The women were convicted of hooliganism for staging a “punk prayer” against Mr
Putin in Christ the Saviour Cathedral in the Russian capital.

“The girls’ actions were sacrilegious, blasphemous and broke the Church’s

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Video: Protesters across the world turn out to support Pussy Riot

August 18 2012

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The Pussy Riot band members sit in a glass-walled cage as they hear the verdict

August 18 2012 AFP/Getty Images

The Pussy Riot band members sit in a glass-walled cage as they hear the verdict